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LOS ANGELES — Moments before Steph Curry’s 36-footer to ice the Warriors’ season-opening win, Jonathan Kuminga crashed from the corner and skied over center Deandre Ayton for an offensive rebound. 

Sealing the extra possession for Curry was the “play of the game,” head coach Steve Kerr said. It was the best possible way for the 23-year-old wing to cap the first game of his fifth season. 

“That rebound is what everyone in the world has been waiting to see,” Draymond Green said. “You got that athleticism, (because) you make big plays like that. You’ve got superstar potential, you go make big plays. Those are game-winning plays.”

Kuminga’s 17-point, nine-rebound, six-assist game helped the Warriors to a 119-109 victory over the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. He sparked an 18-4 run to start the second half — in what resembled a vintage Warriors third quarter — and made Luka Doncic work for his 43 points by picking him up full-court and keeping his arms by his sides to avoid needless fouls. 

Since Kuminga entered the league, the Warriors have sought energy: defend, rebound, cut, run the floor. He delivered on all of that to support wingman Jimmy Butler (31 points; 16-for-16 from the foul line), Draymond Green, and Curry.

“Not bad,” Kuminga said postgame when asked how he played. “Just good to help the team win this game.” 

Under contract after a dramatic restricted free agency, and under the mentorship of Butler, Kuminga was the player the Warriors need him to be on opening night. Butler has given the Warriors a legitimate floor of contention, and Kuminga — at his best — raises the team’s ceiling. 

Tuesday’s victory — even if it came against a LeBron James-less Lakers — validated the vibe that has emanated out of Warriors camp. Last preseason, Curry said he hoped to “be a relevant team early and give ourselves a chance to compete.” Contrast that with this fall, when the Warriors’ pillars know this group has a shot at contention from the outset. 

“I love our team, too,” Kerr said when asked about a preseason projection model that predicted the Warriors to finish with 56 wins. 

Much of Golden State’s internal confidence has to do with Butler. Last season, he joined the Warriors and immediately inspired a 23-8 surge. The Warriors finished with 48 wins and the seventh seed, but Curry’s hamstring injury ultimately doomed Golden State in the Western Conference semifinals, sending the team into the summer on a “what-if.” 

In that span, the Warriors boasted the No. 3 net rating in the league. That was as Butler didn’t know the defensive terminology or many of Golden State’s set plays. Now they have a full offseason with the six-time All-Star to build on, plus a deeper roster with more shooting. 

Butler, like he did last year, dictated the pace by getting to the foul line at will against the Lakers. That was a dimension the Warriors sorely lacked before acquiring him, and one that helps their defense because it allows them to play in the halfcourt. 

“It was the reason we became a good team last year,” Kerr said. “As soon as we got him, he provides that stability, the ability to get fouled and go to the line and settle the game down. He never turns the ball over. He just controls the game out there for us. We need that. We’ve always been at our best when we can provide the support for Draymond and Steph’s chaos with stability.”  

Butler is providing more than just stability on the court. This training camp, he took Kuminga under his wing like veterans Luol Deng, Derrick Rose, and Kirk Hinrich once did for him. They watch film together, play one-on-one against each other and spend time together before, during, and after practices.  

Kuminga has grand aspirations. Butler views it as his job to will the oozing potential out of him. 

“I just want to help JK be great,” Butler said. “He’s got so much raw talent. He’s so aggressive, he’s athletic, he’s super smart. I’m trying to teach him a little bit of what I see throughout the game.” 

Kuminga’s happy to listen.

“Just being a sponge,” Kuminga said. “Going to him every single day…just any time I interact with him, try to pick his brain. I feel like in this league, he’s one of the people that actually has been in my shoes throughout their career, like knows what I’ve been through.” 

Butler had to do the dirty work to become a perennial All-Star and eventually someone who could put multiple Heat teams on his back en route to the NBA Finals. He spent years guarding opposing teams’ best players, digging out contested rebounds, diving on the floor for loose balls, and treating practices like they were playoff games. 

Against the Lakers, Kuminga looked like a quick study. 

Never before in Kuminga’s career had he logged at least nine boards and six dimes in a game. He added four 3-pointers, made quick decisions, and displayed the type of impressive playmaking he has flashed at times. 

On one play in the fourth quarter, he used a Curry ball screen to spring into the lane against the smaller Gabe Vincent before finding Al Horford for a layup while he was on the way down. 

“The dropoff to Al was crazy,” Green said. “He couldn’t make that play two years ago. He was incredible tonight.” 

Kuminga made the Warriors’ small starting lineup work. Kerr went with it to open the game, to start the second half, and mostly closed the game out with it, too. Last year, the trio of Kuminga, Green, and Butler registered a paltry -27.7 net rating. But the sample was small, and it mostly included minutes while Kuminga was re-acclimating after his severe ankle sprain. 

Kuminga’s ability to hit open threes, keep the ball moving, and impact the game without scoring is the key to unlocking that lineup. In the first half, the unit’s spacing was slightly off and the lineups failed to leverage Curry’s gravity. Kuminga held his hand up after a pair of tough midrange fadeaways that clanked, recognizing they weren’t the right shots. The combination barely played together in preseason, and Kuminga was feeling out when and where to attack.

Kerr spent halftime reminding his team that it needs to use Curry’s movement. The first play of the third quarter, Kuminga and Curry ran split action, and Kuminga cashed a three as two defenders ran to Curry. The very next play, he slipped an off-ball screen for Curry to the rim for an easy layup.

“I think he’s really, really matured,” Kerr said. “He’s had a great camp. We’ve had some really great conversations. I think he has a better understanding of what we need.” 

Kuminga likely won’t start every game like he did on Tuesday, as Moses Moody sat and the Lakers’ lack of an imposing center invited the Warriors to play small. But if he plays like he did in Los Angeles, it’ll be easy for Kerr to find 30 minutes for him on a regular basis. 

There have been stretches in Kuminga’s career when he appears to be turning a corner, when his teammates believe his superstar potential is about to become reality, when the featured role he covets is within his grasp. 

Curry often warns against overanalyzing any single particular Kuminga performance. He’s correct to do so; every player has great nights and poor ones. 

But maybe, with his contract settled, with Butler’s tutelage, with a cohesive roster with centers who stretch the floor, with an improved jumper from another summer’s worth of intense training, Kuminga can consistently deliver the version of himself the Warriors have always envisioned. 

The version that can help a championship core now and expand to run the show in the future. 

“I think what you saw tonight is what you’re going to see all year from JK,” Green said. “And it’s only going to get better.”